1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a metal-air battery and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a metal-air battery having increased energy density, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A metal-air battery includes a negative electrode capable of occluding and emitting ions and a positive electrode in which oxygen in the air is used as an active material. In the metal-air battery, reduction and oxidation reactions of oxygen received from the outside occur in the positive electrode, oxidation and reduction reactions of the metal occur in the negative electrode, and chemical energy generated then is extracted as electrical energy. For example, the metal-air battery absorbs oxygen during discharge and emits oxygen during charge. As described above, since the metal-air battery uses oxygen in the air, energy density of the metal-air battery may be significantly greater than that of other batteries. For example, the metal-air battery may have an energy density several times higher than that of a conventional lithium ion battery.
In addition, since the metal-air battery has a low probability of ignition caused by an abnormally high temperature, the metal-air battery has high stability and, since the metal-air battery is operated by only absorption and emission of oxygen without using a heavy metal, there is a low probability of the metal-air battery contaminating the environment. Due to such various advantages, much research into the metal-air battery is currently being performed, and the remains a need for improved metal-air battery.